I thought this was a really good book with a great example of the inner dialogue of a lot of fourth grade girls. This is a really good opportunity for girls to feel compassionate about their changing and shifting friendships at this age. I particularly love the full size page illustrations with tons of color, motion and joy/exuberance.

Very good graphic novel about friendship and feelings. I especially liked the diverse characters. A nice, quick read for elementary through middle school.

Shannon Hale has a way of building a story around some very challenging subjects in a way that makes it real without making it too real for a younger audience. In this case, Cassie is struggling to find a place in her family and dreaming up ways to make their lives better. She sees that they are not as well off as her friends and those around her, and she dreams big in order to try and help everyone out. She wants to make her friends, her teacher, her family happy and thinks that the things she can win in the sweepstakes will do that. But she's also scared because she worries about money and making problems worse.

Woven through this story about fitting in at home is a second story about fitting in with her friends. The way that her best friend plays is changing, and Cassie has to figure out how much and how fast she wants to grow up and change who she is. Letting herself be influenced by others is not working for her, and it leads to some real problems as she figures out her friendships. I also think that Hale wants to show how there is a lot that goes unsaid in silence, because Cassie often stays quiet in her home even though she needs someone to see her and to see her struggles.

There is a lot going on in this book, and there are a lot of different ways in which a reader can learn important lessons about growing up and being a good person. But the book does this in a way that I think will resonate well with a middle school or upper el reader.

The artwork is consistent with Hale's other books.

Definitely worth picking up.

What a great story of friendship, feelings, and being ok being your true self! I loved this book and the depiction of the very real feelings kids have when they are navigating changing friendships. This book will be really relatable to many of my middle grade readers. Can’t wait to add this to my elementary library collection!

And thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

A dreamy, magical sequel full of heart and self-discovery!

Dream On picks up right where Best Friends left off, and Shannon Hale once again perfectly captures the highs and lows of growing up. This time, we see Shannon navigating the complicated world of friendships, imagination, and the insecurities that come with trying to figure out where you belong. The way Hale blends real-life struggles with fantasy elements inside Shannon’s head is both creative and deeply relatable — especially for middle grade readers learning to handle changing friendships and self-doubt.

LeUyen Pham’s illustrations continue to bring so much charm, emotion, and humor to the story — making it feel even more personal and engaging. Together, they create such an honest, compassionate look at anxiety, creativity, and growing up.

Highly recommend for fans of graphic memoirs like Smile or Real Friends. This series is such a comfort read for kids (and adults!) who have ever felt like their inner world is just a little too big.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, for allowing me to read Dream On by Shannon Hale in exchange for my honest review.

"Dream On" is a relatable story about what happens when you are losing your best friend and everything in your life seems to be stacked against you. Cassie's life is precisely this: she is losing her best friend, Vali, to another girl, and her mom never seems to have time for her. What could alleviate her problems is her belief that she has won a prize from a magazine sweepstakes. Little does she know that she has not won, and to get her friend back, she needs to express her feelings.

This book would be excellent for reluctant readers in middle school. To me, the issues in "Dream On" seem to be more geared toward elementary school students.

🌟 Five stars for Dream On by Shannon Hale — a sweet, heartfelt graphic novel that my girls and I devoured in one sitting.
Cassie’s big dreams, sensitive heart, and search for connection felt so real.
This one is perfect for kids navigating friendship shifts, big feelings, and the magic of imagining “what if.”
Gentle, hopeful, and full of conversation starters — especially for my big-feeling readers. 💖

Loved the book. It was cute, fun and the kids loved it. It was actually enjoyable and taught kids about reaching far and going to create their dreams.

Cassie comes from a big family, and has a big imagination. Her siblings are either teasing her or annoying her. She's constantly called "sensitive", and just wants a little of her (very busy) Mom's attention. The best part of her day? Getting to see her best friend Vali, and sit next to her in class. When Cassie thinks she's won a sweepstakes in the mail, she's excited to tell Vali all about it. But when their teacher rearranges their seats in class, Cassie and Vali are seperated. Now, Cassie has to compete with Stesha - Vali's new desk mate.

This book was another home run from Shannon Hale. I haven't seen Marcela Cespedes' artwork before this, but the mix of Hale's words and Cespedes' beautiful illustrations made this book extremely affective.

As someone who was constantly considered 'too sensitive' as a kid, I was brought to tears by Cassie's story, and her constant confusion over her own emotions from the way those around her reacted. This book is what all the "sensitive" kiddos out there need, so they know that feeling things isn't a bad thing. We need more Cassie's in the world!

Such a cute graphic novel. I think my students will be able to see themselves in the pages of this one.

“I have so many feelings all the time. And I don’t always know what they mean.”
💭
Cassie is part of a HUGE family. Because of that there usually isn’t enough money, time or attention to go around so when Cassie gets a sweepstakes in the mail promising grand prizes, she sends off for it thinking she’s won. She will use the prizes to get another car for her family, newer furniture and a vacation that will convince Vali to be her best friend. But when the sweepstakes is exposed as a scam, Cassie doesn’t know what to do next. Fighting with friends, loneliness and big emotions, she just wants someone to listen.
💭
This is the first MG graphic novel in a new series by @squeetus with artwork by @marcela_cespedes_art Fans of the series Click, Invisible Emmie and Hale’s own Real Friends will find more book joy on these pages. Themes of empathy, kindness, forgiveness will also be prevalent, as well as show kids who feel big emotions, have high sensitivity, and times of sadness. This title releases August 26! The sequel Dream Big releases in August 2026!

CW: bullying, isolation, anxiety

The main character is feeling some big emotions about life: being the middle child in a huge family, the ebb and flow of childhood friendships, and trying to fit in based on the comments of other children. She worries that she's too sensitive all the time and struggles to handle some really big feelings of being left out. The only positive is the change of winning all these huge prizes through a mail-in sweepstakes that promises her loads of exciting adventures and tokens to give to those she loves in her life.
This ARC didn't include any spoken dialogue, but did have the main character's thoughts. Between those and the very expressive illustrations, I was able to infer what was happening in the story. I would recommend this graphic to any of my 4th and 5th graders readers who frequent my Upper Elementary and Middle School library as well as to any teacher who has a student who might need big feelings help.

Cute middle grade graphic novel! Cassie is navigating friendship, family relationships, and school. Important lesson about not caring what others think and being true to yourself.

Love this new graphic novels timing to school getting back in session. Perfect for fans of New GIrl and any middle grade school based graphic novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Dream On is a middle grade graphic novel about a girl named Cassie who is dealing with the trials of family and friendship. Her house is noisy, her family feels too busy for her hopes and dreams, and her best friend Vali is preoccupied with a new friend. Cassie enters a magazine sweepstakes that she thinks she has won and starts to imagine how all of her problems will be solved!

This story has excellent illustrations- clean lines, bold colors, and really thoughtful touches to make reading the pictures easy. I love how the illustrator shows a memory in the pictures, for example. It made it wasy for me and my daughter (who's 7) to understand further what's happening. This story is also so sweet. It paints a realistic picture of a busy and big family, and what it's like to struggle with friendship. My kiddo found it relatable--and so did I!

This was a wonderful portrayal of a young girl feeling overwhelmed by her feelings and the things taking place around her. It made me realize, as a busy mom of multiple children, that I need to take a moment and make sure they each feel seen and heard. Sometimes we forget that these tiny people who depend on us for so much, also need us to take a time out from our busy schedule and be an ear to talk to or to confirm that their feelings are valid. This was so well done, I can't wait to get a copy for my daughter! So my daughter was borrowing my tablet and saw this book and started reading it and said "this is now in my all time favorite books". Now it's absolutely going on the shelf! I'm so glad there are stories available to help young kids feel seen and show them they aren't alone in their feelings.

I like book it great for children to learn and grow like the characters and it sweet and endearing for children and older children alike. I think great for child development and good storytelling and good writing and nice characters and plot

Shannon Hale is always spot on with characters and stories that readers of all ages can relate to. And being someone who was always told growing up that I was "too sensitive," Dream On helped my inner child feel seen in a way that I know will be beneficial to younger readers now.

Cassie comes from a large family and feels as though she is always over looked. Combine that with the roller coaster that can be navigating friendships while growing up, and you have a young girl who wants to do whatever she can to be important to those around her. What Cassie discovers in the process is that it's not what you have that is important to people but who you are as a person and how you make others feel.

Shannon Hale has once again gotten to the heart of one of the many aspects of growing up and given readers an opportunity to be seen and heard in Dream On.

Cassie is in 4th grade and a middle child in a large, chaotic family. Money and space are tight, and she doesn't get much attention at home. She dreams of how her life will change if she wins a magazine sweepstakes that she enters. At the heart of the book is a story of navigating friendships. This will be a hit with the 3rd-5th-grade realistic graphic novel crowd.

Cassie is overwhelmed. She's got a huge family so the house is always chaotic. She is starting to understand that her family is struggling financially. And now her best friend seems to have a new best friend who just wants to be mean all the time? It's too much!

Her life changes when she gets a letter in the mail that says "YOU'RE A WINNER!" Then, Cassie starts dreaming about all of the things that she will do with her winnings: get her own bed to sleep in, take her mother on a vacation, throw a grand retirement party for her favorite teacher. But is she actually a winner?

This graphic novel did a great job at showing how hard it is to navigate that "in-between" stage when some of your friends think your old games and such are "too babyish" but you still like the games. But, at the same time, you don't want to be seen as a baby. It really is a hard time to experience.

Cassie was such a kind little soul throughout the book and it gave her anxiety to come up with all these different scenarios of "what-if." Thankfully, she was able to navigate them with help.